The metamorphosis of Childish Gambino

Childish Gambino's transition from lyrical genius to a soul harnessing musician, is a miracle to behold!

Donald Glover shocked the world when he appeared on The Jimmy Fallon show, sporting nothing but black, sparkled leather pants and of course that oh so questionable 1970’s moustache.

The rapper better known as Childish Gambino also moon lights as an actor and comedian. His contribution to hip-hop is met with a unique flow and often, tongue in cheek lyrics.

The turned soul singer went on to eventually produce, direct and act in his own TV showAtlanta, doing a full circle on the industry. His recent albumAwaken my love had him ditching the typicalhip-hop ego in exchange for synthesizing sounds and flamboyancy, reminiscent of the late Freddy Mercury.

Adding to his found groove he channelled the likes of 1970’s band Funkadelic with tracks such asBaby Boy andMe and your Mama, shifting and merging a collective of sounds and melodies into one song.

It’s not the first time in history a hip-hop artist has decided to undergo a complete revamp, reshaping the image of a burgeoning hip-hop artist altogether. Remembering Atlanta Georgia based artist and one half of the iconic duoOutKast, Andre 3000’s irrefutable presence in hip-hop went from Cadillac’s and pimping to alternative soul, even taking on an entirely different persona by adopting an eccentric sense of style and energy on stage.

Over the years we have seen a gradual decline of hyper masculinity within the hip-hop community. Reflective of the times we are currently living in within our culture, we are rapidly moving towards a world that is demanding sexual liberation and ambiguity.

Yearning to be undefined and break away from a genre that is sought to categorize and pigeonhole those that decide to spit a rhyme on the microphone. The struggle is no longer external within the hip-hop community but rather internal in what is effecting the mind of a modern day ‘rapper,’ it goes deeper than the fetish for guns, fast money and women.